Winter's Magic
by SheIsTheLovelyWinterGirl
Summary: Embry Call didn't care about much. Just his pack members and his duty to his tribe. When he stumbles across a small town girl from Texas, he'll soon begin to think that he's changing for the better. EmbryxOC imprint story. Really bad summary, I know. Always open to criticism!
1. Chapter One

**So what if you can see the darkest side of me?**  
**No one will ever change this animal I have become**  
**Help me believe it's not the real me**  
**Somebody help me tame this animal**  
**(This animal, this animal)**

**~Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace**

It wasn't very often that Embry Call was told to make a trip into the small town of Forks by Sam. Embry often went into to town for his own purposes whenever he could manage to scrape up a little spare time, which he would admit very sadly wasn't a lot. But on this particular dreary and rainy Tuesday Embry had woken up from only an hour or two of sleep by a loud knocking on his front door. Because of the pack's reputation, nobody really went out of their way to talk to Embry. People were scared of him because of the rumors they heard. Embry was certain that it was Sam or Paul or Jacob coming to inform him of a new emergency that they would have to fix. Maybe there was a new vampire to hunt, or perhaps a stupid "tourist-y" pale-face managed to get hurt somewhere on the reservation (something that Sam always made sure the pack took care of- when he said they were meant to protect and take care of the reservation, they all knew Sam would do his best to look out for Forks as well). Still, Embry was dead set on ignoring the rough knocks against his door before they hit again, this time even harder. It was a good thing his mother was out of town, thought Embry. Before whoever his visitor was could knock down the front door, Embry wrestled out of bed, still groggy and tired, throwing the one sheet he typically used to the ground wadded up in frustration and annoyance.

He shuffled through the hallway and past the small kitchen. He didn't even bother to call out to say that he was coming. With a small house like his, and his body size, he was certain whoever it was would hear him coming. He closed his eyes only for a moment and brought his hand to his face to try to wipe the sleep out of his eyes. Within that short period of time he managed to step on the tail belonging to the furry white cat (who was dubbed "Sweet Pea" by his mom) which his mother insisted on keeping around. The cat screeched and stuck out a fuzzy paw, displaying it's claws. Embry let out a loud "Hey!" partly out of surprise at the loud noise and partly out of the small stinging sensation that was quickly starting to burn on the side of his calf. He lifted his foot off of the cat's tail and Sweet Pea darted into the hallway and around the corner to the kitchen.

Not thinking once more of the small wound the cat had gifted him (it would disappear within minutes, Embry was sure) he finally managed to open the door. To his slight surprise it was Sam himself. Sam hardly ever came to get anyone. He usually just sent someone else to do that job, being as he had more important things to do (which annoyed Embry greatly, because even though a lot of the time this was true, more than once Sam had left a few trivial tasks up to the others to solve so he could stay at home with Emily). Embry, being ever cool, suppressed his surprise and kept his face clear of any emotion besides fatigue. If it had been anybody else, he would have gladly showed them the intense annoyance and slight rage he felt, but he knew better than to complain or show haughtiness in front of the alpha.

He took in Sam's appearance. Tall and strong as ever, he would always remain the biggest of the group. Somehow, despite the fact that Sam lost just as much, or even more, sleep than the rest of the pack he always managed to look a little bit more awake and aware of his surroundings. On this particular day his hair was perfectly neat as he stood before Embry in only a pair of basketball shorts and some old, raggedy tennis shoes. Embry studied his features and could tell that whatever Sam needed him for mustn't be too important because though he was solemn-looking, he was missing the urgency in his eyes that he always had when something big was about to happen.

Just as Embry was studying him, he was sure he was being studied by Sam. Poor Sam, thought Embry. He knew for a fact he didn't look pretty on this particular morning. After taking in each others appearance for a moment, Embry finally grew tired of the silence.

"I hate cats," he muttered with the stereotypical sarcasm in his voice. Embry was well aware he had a gift. He was able to use sarcasm and wit without seeming too rude. Most of the time he still managed to come across as quiet and reserved.

"Is that what that was?" questioned Sam, his voice big and deep, and full of authority even when no commands were being given. "I thought you were trying to sing again."

"Ha..." Embry replied, his expression blank. "Haha, so funny." If Quil or Paul of Jared had made that comment, Embry would have hit them upside the head, but Sam being the alpha, he knew not to take his chances. Embry was always being picked on by his brotherhood of misfits for his love of music. He was a gifted guitar player and he wasn't too shabby at singing either. The others often told him he wasn't good but he knew they were only saying that. Truth be told, they actually enjoyed his musical talents. He would often sing at bonfires or the many get-togethers they had.

"I want you to patrol around Forks for an hour or two with Jacob today. You stay as you are and hit the town. Walk around and see if you can find anything suspicious. Jake is going to check around in the surrounding forest."

"Any particular..." Embry began to talk but slowed down to a pause as he opened his mouth wide for an irrepressible yawn. "... Reason?" he finished, his eyes watering slightly.

"I just want to make sure nothing is going on. We can never be too sure."

Embry nodded and began to step over the threshold into the outside world when Same laid a hand on his chest.

"Remember when I said stay as you are and patrol the town?"

Embry nodded impatiently, too tired to even speak. He had literally said that only seconds ago.

"Nevermind. You should fix your bedhead. It's terrible, bro."

He glanced into the mirror in the small square room before the door and his eyes widened. He had only been asleep for an hour, and although the back of his head remained alright (at least passable) the hair that usually fell slightly down on the left side of his forehead was standing almost straight up, like one of the cartoon characters he used to watch on saturday mornings when he was a child had gotten electrocuted.

When he turned back to face his alpha, Sam already had his back turned and was walking in the direction the forest. Even when he didn't change forms, he usually traveled through there. Sam turned his head to the side slightly and called to Embry:

"And put a shirt on! People talk about us enough already- don't draw too much attention to yourself."

The old grayish silver and off-white 1980's Ford truck bounced along the road to Forks. Embry wondered how often "his baby" had traveled this path before. He had bought the truck from an old neighbor who had his license revoked because he could no longer see well enough to drive. The truck itself was in a pretty bad state when he came to ownership, but he had fixed it by himself mainly, with a little help from Jacob and Quil when he needed it.

If he took his eyes off the road long enough, Embry could see Jacob bounding through the thick forest in his russet wolf form. Embry was actually quite pleased that Sam had ordered Jake to take the forests. Nobody knew this (or at least he assumed nobody knew, but when his whole pack could read each others mind, there really wasn't any such thing as a secret) but sometimes Embry liked to pretend none of this had ever happened. Whenever he could go into town by himself, even if it was under orders, he could act like what he wanted to be- a normal eighteen year old boy.

A few moments later, Embry could no longer find Jacob running about nearby. He parked his car on the side of Main Street, Forks and opened the door to begin his quest, searching for probably nothing.

The door to his truck shut with a loud bang- maybe too loud. Embry was still getting used to his own strength since phasing. The loud outburst from his truck door did nothing but draw attention. Embry groaned inwardly. The people of Forks were very touchy about the subject of the La Push "gang." And it's not like Embry could even pretend he wasn't a part of Sam's pack. Everybody knew that nobody of that relative size was just a normal La Push resident.

A girl, probably around the age of fourteen, was giving Embry the eyes from across the road. She was quite pretty, Embry thought, but so stereotypically so. She was wearing too much makeup and her clothes were obviously name-brand. Her naturally blond hair was accented with light brown highlights (Actually, they were lowlights, but being an average teenage boy, Embry didn't know or really care about the difference.) and was styled with perfect layers. Her eyes were bright blue and she took in Embry's body in a way no fourteen year old should have. With one look Embry could tell that she was trying too hard to be pretty. He knew plenty of girls at his own high school who would come to school without her usual amount of makeup on and looked like a completely different person. It wasn't that he thought them any less pretty, but the fact that they would alter their appearances just to fit into social norms was a very big turn off for Embry.

The girl smirked at him and turned her body to face Embry. She lifted one eyebrow and lifted the corner of her lips to what (Embry guessed- he had never been too good at decoding girls) she thought was a sexy smirk. Then she... No, wait... She didn't! There was no way she just pushed out her chest like that! Embry grinned to himself, but not at the seductive gesture.

The girl's father had walked out right behind her. Embry noticed they were standing in front of a dentist office. His eyes met the dad's, and of course the young lady's old man was not pleased at all at his daughter giving a notorious La Push gang member googly eyes. He scowled at Embry and quickly ushered his daughter down the road towards a white SUV. Embry could hear him talk over the girl's protests, saying that she needed to get back to school.

Feeling bolder than usual Embry started walking backwards toward the other end of the road. He cupped his hands over his mouth and, right as he caught the blue eyes of his young admirer, no doubt trying her best to get one more round of flirting in, he called out:

"Hey, you're only fourteen. You should probably act like it."

And with that, he quickly turned on his heels and shoved his hands in his pockets. He didn't know if her father had heard, and frankly, he didn't care. What would he do, anyway? Would he march up to a young La Push ruffian who, despite being decades younger, was twice his size? Embry figured he wouldn't.

With school still in (La Push High got out a week earlier than Forks High for Thanksgiving break), most of the people walking around town were stay-at-home-moms who were collecting groceries or running errands. Still, they stared, too. Embry could see the obvious distrust in their eyes, and he noticed more than one grab her purse tighter to her as he walked by. Some got excited, Embry noticed. He could hear them now, calling up friends later in the day to gossip about how they had a run in with one of the La Push trouble makers! He glanced down at the clothes he had chosen to wear. Old jeans, and black and gray band t-shirt for a local band in Seattle, and some old, distraught Vans. Perhaps he should have brought a jacket, to at least try to fit in. Washington would get very cold in November. He shrugged to himself. At least he wore jeans and not shorts like he was going to. Still, as he walked among the people of Forks, he figured he had better at least look like he had motive, and not looking to cause trouble. He quickly looked down the rows of shops and small businesses that occupied Main Street. Most were little boutiques and photography or dance studios. Pretty useless to Embry, unless he had the sudden urge to become a male model or take up tap dancing.

He'll pass, thank you very much.

The second to last little store on Embry's end and side of the street was a little book shop-slash-coffee house, which sounded just perfect to Embry. Besides his love for music, Embry also found himself the butt of the pack's jokes for being slightly more literate than the rest of them. He was an avid reader.

There was a ding as Embry pushed the door open. While he had been standing outside the shop before entering, Embry could smell the strong coffee and pastries, but now that he was in the store, his heightened senses were almost overwhelming. Not only could he smell the warm beverages but the ink and the paper, too. He inhaled deeply, thanking his lucky stars that his pack wasn't there to see him marvel in the presence of what was so mediocre to them. The employee at the register smiled to him without looking up from her phone, then walked into the back storage room.

Embry shoved his hand into the right pocket of his old jeans and grabbed for whatever amount of cash he had on him. Maybe he could buy a coffee, or perhaps a paperback book. As he silently cursed, for all he felt was change, he looked to his right, towards the window that overlooked the cloudy street of Forks, Washington.

And it was to his right that the owner of this obviously booming business had decided to place the tables for those who wished to sit and enjoy a coffee or two. And, in fact, to his right, sitting in the corner table farthest against the left side of the window was a girl typing away at a small netbook with a steaming cup of coffee on her table. This girl had long straight brunette hair that was all one length with bangs that, if they weren't tucked in behind her ear, would fall to just below her chin. It fell at least to her middle back and was so thick that some of it even spilled over her shoulders. She was very pale (keep in mind Embry thought every white person was pale, but even he knew her skin could rival that of one of the disdainful Cullens) but with his superhuman eyesight he could see light brown freckles sprinkled across her slight pixie nose and adorably and barely chubby cheeks. She had small, soft looking lips. Embry knew that his mother would describe them as kissable. Even though she was sitting, he could tell that she was taller than most girls by just an inch or two. She might have been five-foot-seven.

Then by chance, which Embry would later say was fate, she looked up from her computer towards Embry himself, and they locked eyes for just a moment.

If Embry thought the rest of her was beautiful, he was completely speechless when it came to her eyes. They were an odd shade of green. Too green to be hazel, to hazel to be green. And just like that, he was rooted to the spot. The light mossy-color of her eyes rushed through his veins, forever imprinted in his mind.

The strange girl glanced away quickly, but Embry almost didn't notice. The earth was turning and the very ground beneath his feet was trembling. He could feel his whole universe swirling around as if rearranging itself. He felt a strange emotion he couldn't place swell up inside his chest almost like a balloon. His breathing became shallow and for a moment he forgot everything that he ever knew besides that girl sitting in front of him. His knees began to tremble and he suddenly felt very warm. He had to know her. He wanted so badly to cross over the distance separating the two and enclose her and never let her go, so he could keep her safe from everything. He wanted to know her secrets and he wanted to tell her his. He longed to reach out and touch her hand. Oh, to just _touch_ her hand would bring him such joy, the mere thought of it had him thinking his heart would burst out of his chest.

Only, his heart wasn't his anymore. It belonged to her, the unknown girl typing away at the computer.

Without even realizing what he had done, Embry thought back to the way Sam felt about Emily. Embry liked Emily. She was nice and very pretty, even with her scars. But she was nothing compared to her. Embry himself had read Sam's thoughts as they drifted back to Emily, but what Sam didn't know was that this girl, this very girl, was absolutely perfect. Embry was well-aware of the fact that nobody was perfect, but he knew that she was perfectly imperfect. All of her little flaws and bad personality traits did nothing but make her her so to Embry, her mistakes were perfections with flaws.

Suddenly, Embry felt different. He hadn't quite yet realized what had just happened. He had no idea what to do. Aside from his rapid breathing, he stood absolutely still, hand still in his pocket and fingers still clutching a few loose coins. He stared at the girl as he noticed a faint blush spread across her cheeks, which only made the butterflies in his stomach multiply by the hundreds and flutter ever so faster. Time seemed like it wasn't passing, and he was unaware how much of it had really passed or if the girl was even aware he was still staring.

Quickly it became too much for Embry. What was he supposed to do? Panic filled his mind up and suddenly he felt like he couldn't see or breathe. Some would describe his behavior not unlike a caged wolf.

He began to tremble violently, and couldn't control (and wasn't even really aware of) the unhuman like growls that began to come forth from his mouth. He was lucky the only employee currently on duty was in the back, but he was incredibly unlucky that his actions were drawing the girl's attention back to him. She watched with wide eyes as he continued to shake.

Embry kept telling himself he had to calm down. He couldn't give in. Not here, not now. It was hard. He wasn't thinking straight. Everything became a blur and soon Embry wasn't aware of anything except ominous dread that he could hurt _her_. Colors started to streak and images began to waver. His already inhuman senses were doubling with ability.

Somewhere amidst his vicious tantrum Embry felt a strong pair of arms wrap around his shoulders. Embry lost all thought except the one that kept repeating 'Not here, not here, not here." All of the sudden, he could process the voice of his alpha telling him to calm down. It was different. It wasn't right. Sam was whispering in his ear instead of barking out orders at him as per usual. Even in his extremely erratic state he wondered what Sam was doing in Forks, and how he had known where to find him so quickly.

"Embry, _calm down_," was all he heard. Then he felt himself being pushed outside and across the street.

Still shaking, and still unaware of his surroundings, he listened to one voice.

"_Run_, Embry," shouted Sam. "Get to the trees!"

Despite his confusion and fear, instinct told him he had to obey. With his vision blurring by the second, he spotted the trees on the other side of the street. He stumbled towards it, shaking even more and losing a bit more of himself with each passing second. A car honked as he stumbled into the hood, but he took no heed of it. He was trying his best to run and get out of the public's eye. At least a few feet into the trees was all he needed, he told himself, regaining a bit of his conscience for just a moment.

Somebody screamed profanities at him but he kept going. He made it to the other side of the street and stumbled over the ledge of the sidewalk before continuing on his journey to the forest.

He faintly heard the snap of the branches and the rustle of the bushes as he finally, after what seemed to him like decades, crashed through the barrier to the woods. He stumbled a few more steps forward, tripping over various logs and fauna. With a painful yelp and the sounds of tearing fabric, he gave in to the beast

**Well, there's the first chapter. I really want to say thank you to those of y'all who stuck by me even when I wasn't around to see it. As for those who asked me if they could adopt my discontinued story, 'The Winter Girl' I'm sorry, but the answer is no. The reason for that is because both that story and 'Winter's Magic' are very similar. The same characters are involved and it's the same story plot except for a few readjustments. Thanks again for reading! I love helpful criticism, so don't be shy to post about anything I misspelled or if you thought the story wasn't flowing right.**

**Xoxo,**

**SheIsTheLovelyWinterGirl**


	2. Chapter Two

"'Cause all I know is we said, 'Hello.'"

And your eyes look like coming home

All I know is a simple name

Everything has changed

All I know is you held the door

And you'll be mine and I'll be yours

All I know since yesterday is everything has changed."

~Everything Has Changed by Taylor Swift ft. Ed Sheeran

Emily's POV

Emily was sitting at her kitchen table, sipping on a mug of tea and reading a Better Homes & Garden magazine. She was smiling and humming contentedly to herself. Her life was far from perfect, she knew that. But regardless of whatever task or tragedy was thrown at her she took it silently and with a smile. She wasn't aware of it, but the boys in the pack looked at her as if she were almost a saint. By becoming Sam's imprint, she wasn't required to cook endless amounts of food to sustain a whole pack of wolves. She didn't automatically get the responsibility of taking care of the boys when they got into fights and came out a little more than "just scratched up" (even if any injuries would heal faster than most) and yet she took on those trials almost as if she were grateful for them. She didn't notice the warmth in their eyes when they looked at her. They thought of her almost like a mother.

Emily dog-eared a page she wanted to take a closer look at later and drained the rest of her already lukewarm tea. She mentally _tsked_ herself when she checked her watch. It was almost eleven! She had better get something ready for lunch, and probably start thinking about dinner soon, too. Even when nothing major was going on, two or three of the boys usually showed up everyday regardless.

Even as she thought those very words, she heard a loud thunk, and the outside wall of her house shook for a slight moment. Emily's heart began to beat. What could it be? If the legends were true, what other monsters could be out there? Oh, don't be silly, she told herself. What if it was just a visitor? Perhaps, and more than likely, it was just some of the boys messing around as usual. So with her lips pursed and her arms outstretched slightly in front of her, she tried her best to quietly slide across the kitchen floor to peek out the window.

And her heart broke at what she saw.

Embry sat, hunched over, with his back against the wall. He was bare, but thankfully Emily couldn't see him clearly due to his bent form. His head was in his hands and his large shoulders shook as he cried. Emily raised her eyebrows and pressed her right hand to her heart. It ached for Embry. What could she do? Would he accept her comfort or turn her away and be embarrassed by her attempt to console him? As Embry sat there he did not whine or sob. He simply cried. He sniffled more than a few times and took large, gasping breaths, but he was much quieter than anybody else would have been. For some reason, this only made Emily pity him more. He had no inkling of who his father was, except that he was the same man who fathered one of his three best friends, while being married at the time. Embry was the _other_ son. His mother constantly wailed at him and accused him of things he would have never dreamt of back when he thought the legends were just that, and he sat there quietly as she did so and never complained about it. Despite all of the hardships he faced, Emily had never seen him break. She wondered if he had ever cried in front of anyone. The ever reserved, ever quiet Embry was visibly broken and nobody who knew what to do was present. She tapped her fingers against her pursed lips a moment, trying to judge what the right thing to do would be.

As if she had summoned him to come solve the problem for her, Emily saw Sam push his way through the edge of the trees surrounding her backyard. His brow was heavy, like he had been burdened with a difficult and depressing task, though the rest of his face remained blank and almost serene.

Emily watched as he beelined for Embry. His lips moved, and she was certain he had called his name. He wasn't running; he was walking quickly. Regardless, with his long stride he had reached Embry in half the time it would have taken anybody else.

His large hand rested on Embry's right shoulder blade and he crouched beside him. Emily strained to hear, but she could only make out the low drone of Sam's voice as he spoke to Embry. His crying reduced slowly because he was listening to Sam, but still he cried on. His shoulders still shook, his face was still buried in his hands, and he rocked himself slowly, shaking his head at whatever Sam was telling him.

Emily frowned and sent the two pack mates a sympathetic look, even though neither could see it. Seeing that Embry was being taken care of, she turned her back to the window and began to gather the pots and pans she needed.

Embry's POV

Sam was comforting. No, he wasn't comforting Embry in a way a mother would a child. Sam was far from the coddling type. Embry simply felt comforted because Sam was just there. Having a figure of authority present during a time of turmoil was always a great thing, especially when that someone was one of the only father figures you had ever had (Embry did sometimes think of Sam or Billy Black as a father figure). There was somebody there who would fix things, or at least try and make them better. Embry was scared. Thoughts of the girl he had seen in the bookstore were whirling around in his head. Who was she? Embry wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to know all her secrets and what cheered her up when she was sad. Most of all he just wanted to know if she was alright. Did she need protection right now? How could he protect her if he didn't even know her name? He had never felt such strong emotions before, and now he didn't know how to process them.

So as Sam spoke to Embry very sternly, telling him to calm down and think about where he was, Embry relaxed slightly. His shoulders stopped shaking with his heavy sobs and he was able to slow his breathing. His sobbing eventually transferred into slight sniffling. The rain, like Embry's tears, had stopped for the most part. Now a person could barely even feel the miniscule drizzle.

It was silent for a long time, then Sam spoke.

"Embry," he stated. "What happened?" He stared at Embry, his dark eyes hard as he waited for an answer.

Embry couldn't bring himself to look Sam in the eyes. What had happened? "I was hoping you could tell me." He ran his arm under his nose. "I don't know."

Sam was silent for a moment. He looked into the surrounding forest and his eyes trailed along the line of trees as if he could see something running far into the covered area. When he did speak, all he said was, "You imprinted, Embry."

He sat at the kitchen table, where Emily had not too long ago in a pair of old cut offs. His eyes were closed as he slouched in his chair and he didn't even notice when Emily set a piping mug of something- tea or hot chocolate, Embry didn't know or even really care for that matter- down in front of him. With his eyes closed he could still see his stranger perfectly. It was as if she were sitting right there in front of him.

He could feel her in him as if she were a part of him. He could feel her as if she were the blood pumping through his veins. He was driving himself mad with the thought of her, but he didn't dare try to stop. Sam and Emily sat in the living room but left the door to the kitchen open, incase he was in danger of phasing again.

Embry was breathing deeply with his eyes still closed, he looked almost as if he were sleeping. His eyes opened with a flash and panic caused the beating of his heart to increase. He was supposed to protect her and take care of her and be anything he needed her to be, but how could he do that when he didn't even know her name.

Jacob Black chose that moment to saunter through the door from the living room after a few casual words with Sam and Emily. He walked over to the refrigerator and retrieved a soda. Opening the can and leaning against the refrigerator (which, with all his weight, creaked in protest and slightly leaned back toward the wall).

"So," he said. "Now, not only are you a hall-monitor on steroids, you're a _love-sick_ hall-monitor on steroids!" His voice was playfully cheerful, in an almost cruel way. "How does that make you feel?"

Embry was in no mood for his best friend's sporting banter.

"Shut it," he said as he narrowed his eyes. He cringed with internal pain and placed his head in his hands. Jacob could barely hear Embry's muffled voice when he spoke. "What am I supposed to do?" Embry sighed. "I don't even know her name."

Jacob took a large gulp from his orange soda and simply stated, "I do."

There was a scraping sound as Embry's chair flew back from the table, then landed on its back with a loud crash, and in a flash he had Jacob cornered against the refrigerator. His large hands were wound tight around the collar of his plain blue t-shirt and with incredible strength he had lifted Jacob a little under a foot above the ground.

"Hey, man!" Jacob protested. "What're you-"

"What do you mean," although Embry's eyes were alive with fire and his face was contorted with confusion, his voice was low and quiet, and almost calm, "you know her name?"

Jacob kicked for a moment and gave his best friend an annoyed look. "Before Sam went after you, he made me throw on some clothes and go talk to her. He wanted to know if she suspected anything."

At Jacob's answer, Embry promptly let him go and ran his hands through his hair. He gave Jake a worried look. "Does she hate me? She probably thinks I'm a monster. Aw, crap, Jake I-"

"Relax," Jacob held a hand in front of Embry's face. Embry hadn't been imprinted for more than two hours and Jacob was already starting to get annoyed with him. "I don't really think she noticed all that much. We had a pretty normal conversation. Maybe she just thinks you have, I don't know, a twitch or something. Like tourettes or whatever."

Embry felt his heart lift a little, and the corners of his mouth twitched upwards slightly. "Yeah?" he asked Jacob. "Maybe you're right." He was grinning now, the corners of his eyes crinkling and he could picture him and her walking down the street hand in hand. Suddenly his feet tingled with anticipation and his toes curled in the extra pair of tennis shoes he kept with Sam (Sam made it basically a law that the boys keep extra clothes around). It didn't occur to him that she would want anything less than to be in a relationship with him. All he could think about was being able to reach for her hand whenever he felt like it…

His thoughts were interrupted by Jacob. "Aren't you going to ask me what her name was?" Jacob had been watching Embry intently, not used to seeing his friend in such a state.

"I don't know," Embry frowned again. "I want to know, I really do, but I really want to ask her myself, and give her mine. I can't…" he paused for a moment and searched for the right words. "I don't know, Jake. I can't explain it." Embry walked back to the table and lifted the chair back in an upright position. He looked at Jacob and said, "It's killing me. This wasn't supposed to happen this way. It should have been easy, like Jared and Kim. Or Paul and your sister."

"Don't remind me," Jacob said flatly, in regards to Paul imprinting on his older sister, Rachel. He took a chair next to Embry and spun it around. He sat straddling it. "It'll work out, bro. It literally _has_ to. This is fate, after all." Jacob stopped talking and grimaced at himself. "Look at me, you've got me talking about it like I agree with this imprinting thing."

Embry snickered slightly, his spirits not quite lifted. "You talked to her?" Embry asked simply. Jacob nodded. "Do you have any inkling on where I can find her again?"

Jacob shook his head this time, slowly and kind of sadly, for he didn't want to be the bearer of bad news to his friend. "All I know is her name, which you won't let me say, and that she just moved here from out of state. Said she talked her parents into letting her have a few days off before starting school to get the feel of the place."

Embry nodded twice very slowly, his eyes zoned out as his head whirled with thoughts and his heart, emotions. Jacob watched him for a moment before stuttering:

"Er- what are you going to do now?"

Embry shrugged. "Things are so different now. Even from yesterday. She's changed everything." The wonderstruck smile on his lips when he mentioned his imprint showed Jacob that he believed things had changed for the better. "That's all I know. Everything has changed." Embry sighed. "I find her. What's next is I find her."


End file.
